you've got the perspective this morning on what you guys are dealing with. >> reporter: well, this one nothing compared to that. luckily no one was injured and this train which was carrying sulfuric acid did not leak. we have pictures to show you, initially around midnight we're told a csx train originating in new york heading to north carolina had derailed. the engineer initially thought the cars containing the acid were leaking and a hazmat crew was called as was the maryland department of the environment. but when they got to the scene they found no leaks at all. for several hours overnight route 213 singerly road was shut down in both directions as crews investigated. but the road is reopened this morning. and firefighters have cleared the scene. as you can imagine, things could have been a lot worse had those cars carrying that acid leaked. we're live in elkton, linda so,

abc2 news. news time right now 5:30 and really sad story this morning. a maryland family is mourning to loss of their 3-year-old boy this morning. the child was inside the car with his grandmother when it started to roll backwards. the father noticed and jumped inside to try to stop it. police say the child fell out of the car and was hit by it. he died at the hospital. today, some of the session's biggest issues will be up for votes in annapolis. and those issues include everything if gun control to -- from gun control to pit bull legislation. abc2 news' sherrie johnson is here with a preview. what can you tell us? >> lawmakers will tackle yes some continue verb issues today in -- controversial issues today in annapolis. a senate panel is expected to vote on gun control issues proposed by governor a mall lee. now gun rights supporters will propose changes on anything from eliminating licensing provisions to changing the definition of an assault weapon.

also today in annapolis the house will weigh in on the pit bull legislation. brought to the floor on tuesday. the bill would remove the inherently dangerous tag from pit bulls and apply it to all dogs. animal advocates from across the state will also gather in annapolis for a humane lobby day. they plan to urge lawmakers to protect dog owners and families from the dangerous court of appeals ruling on pit bulls. that runs from 9:00 a.m.to 3:00 p.m. in annapolis and also watching a proposal to repeal the death penalty. lots going on in annapolis today. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. 5:32 right now. college park's president has endorsed the state's efforts to limit gun ownership. that comes after a murder/suicide earlier this month involving university of maryland students. gun safety has long been a priority of the president while it's low. back in december he signed an open letter to our nation'd leaders calling for college presidents for gun safety. however the tragedy at the school happened and this

spurred his endorsement even more. governor o'malley's gun control package has been up for debate in annapolis and of courses that the big story today. we're going to talk about it today and a column that's doing to be published in the diamondback which is the college's student newspaper. well, the seventh year in a row maryland high school students have something to brag about. our state ranked first in the nation for scores on advanced placement tests. this is a key measure for college prep and a. p. rests are graded on a -- tests are graded on a scale of 1 to 5. new york and massachusetts are right behind maryland. mississippi ranked last with the fewest number of students scoring a 3 or higher. well, a push to improve afterschool programs now brings dozens of school leaders to baltimore today. the national conference called better together building local systems to improve afterschool. the leaders will discuss how to build systems that make high quality programming available for urban youngsters. we have new video to show you this morning of that restaurant explosion in kansas

city. it's all caught on surveillance video. you can see the traffic stopping at a red light and then it takes off in a hurry. this happened at j.j.'s restaurant. it soon led to an explosion. neighbors there say there was a really strong smell of gas before the explosion. they had been evacuating the building when something ignited and one person they believe was killed and again about 14 others were injured. a jet carrying seven people crashed in east georgia killing at least five people on board. the faa says that the jet landed at about 8:30 near augusta. it then ran off the end of the runway and crashed. authorities said that flight had departed from nashville and investigators are not determine -- have not identified rather who those victims are on board. but we will keep you posted. carnival is facing a class action lawsuit over the disaster that happened on board their ship triumph. the lawsuit now states the company knew or should have known that the ship could

experience mechanical or engine issues since it had in the past. it also says the conditions on the vessel created a risk of injury or illness. it lost primary power earlier this month after an engine fire causing the toilets to overflow into public spaces. carnival has offered their passengers $500. a free flight home and a full refund as well as credit on another cruise. you never know where severe weather is going to hit. so why not create it yourself? >> up next we're going to see how researchers are simulating mother nature to make you safer. >> and we've heard the health dangers that come with fast food but are we listening? we've got new numbers for you this morning on the warnings when it comes to going through the drive-thrus and some of are you are taking note -- you are taking not

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kansas city, missouri we want to show you new video because we mentioned this and we weren't able to show it to you due to technical problems. here it is. you're looking at video that captured the explosion, it's surveillance video and you can see the traffic stopping at the red light and then take cough in a huh -- off in a hurry after j.j.'s restaurant exploded. neighbors say there was a smell of gas and then the explosion. the gas company had been

evacuating the building before something ignited and while it happened one person we're told was killed and they're still investigating though. and take a look at the video -- inside a warehouse. researchers in south carolina created an indoor hailstorm to figure out the best protection against this type of storm. they mixed tap and seltzer water to come up with the golf ball sized hailstones and then shot them from a cannon at about 80 miles per hour. experts say the home they used took enough man made beating that builders now need to come up with stronger material sos hey, you can't see -- materials so hey you can't see what's going to happen. they have to build a wear house. snow in arizona½ the big story come -- that was the big story coming nationally but lynette there's a big storm. is it going to hit us? people really are bracing for some wild weather. >> exactly they are bracing for wild weather and it's going to hit us but the wild weather comes in the form of snow, sleet, rain, freezing rain, but also you're talking about hail. they're going to be getting some severe weather around

texas and also louisiana. all this is going to slide off towards the east. so you could see some hail and some tornadoes in that as they go throughout the day. but back here at home today we're going to dry out and get some sunshine in here. as we head the kids off the school it's going to be cold. bundled them up and also a breezy day on tap as well. the high temperature coming in at 38 but we will feel for like the pro 40s -- more like the low 20s to upper 30s. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. and unfortunately we have a crash the tell you about on the 695, it's on the inner loop can it's blocking the ramp to northbound route 295. if you are heading out in parkville though no delays on the beltway all the way up to towson. nice and clear. hunt valley taking a live look here at the harrisburg expressway. everything moving right along. no delays down to the beltway and it will remain that way as you do get on to the jfx and head into the city. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. he stunned the world when he announced the retirement. pope benedict xvi is going to

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thank you for joining us the morning. we're continuing to follow breaking news out of cecil county this morning. and abc2 news linda so is live this morning at the fire department. just a few miles from the scene of the accident. linda what's the latest? >> reporter: the scene has been cleared. firefighters here from the singerly fire department were the first to respond to the derailment. we have all new pictures courtesy of the cecil wig to show you this morning. this derailment happened abdomen two miting from here -- about two miles from here off of singerly road deep in the woods in elkton. the initial call came in at midnight. we're told a train originating from albany, new york heading to north carolina had derailed. ten cars came off the tracks and two of this cars were carrying sulfuric acid. the engineer thought the cars were leaking and a crew was called and so was the maryland department of the environment. but when they got to the scene, and inspected the damage, they

found there was no leak. for several hours overnight, route 213 which is singerly road was shut down in both directions but the road is now reopened and firefighters have cleared the scene. and because this train derailed deep in the woods, there were no homes or businesses in the area that were affected. we're live in elkton, linda so, abc2 news. a story that's getting more and more bizarre by the day. olympian oscar pistorius is back in court now for the third day and his closing arguments for a bail hearing going on right now. and prospects for bail have now increased for the olympic runner after the lead detective in the investigation well, he offered confusing testimony and the prosecution had no idea that the person's now facing criminal charges himself. the detective is charged with attempted murder in october 2011 from a series of shootings. prosecutors say they don't know how the case against him will affect the oscar pistorius case but make sures this something you'll be hearing much more about. it appears pope benedict

wants the replacement chosen sooner than usual. he may change the church ice constitution. right now it says a vote should begin 15 to 20 days after that vacancy. a report says the vatican wants a new pope installed before palm sunday march 24th. the soonest the college of cardinals would start choosing a new leader would be on march 15th. magic johnson, kobe bryant and other nba stars will be at the nokia theater in l. a. today for jerry buss' memorial service. he died earlier this week at the age of 80. and vice president joe biden delivering the keynote address today at a gun control conference in connecticut. participants of one -- parents of the children killed in the sandy hook shooting will be attending the event. wal-mart's bottom line may be hurting. according to e-mails obtained by bloomberg news, wal-mart executives say february sales were quote a total disaster. the worst in seven years.

and honor black history month the u.s. postal service is unveiling two new stamps. a dedication ceremony is planned for this morning at the lewis museum in baltimore. changes are coming to m and t stank bade yum. the -- m&t bank stadium. the baltimore ravens are holding a news conference this afternoon. the olympics could be in baltimore in 2024. at least the city was invited to place a bid. that would be pretty exciting. the u.s. olympic committee sent letters to 35 cities to gauge their interest in hosting the summer games. the mayor was excited about the letter but says it is way too early to decide what to do. charm city has pursued a joint bid with d.c. in the past and atlanta was the last u.s. city to host summer games and that was back in 1996. news time now 5:47 and some good news in the fight against obesity. new numbers show the amount of calories kids and teens are eating have dropped slightly. it's the first decline though

in more than 40 years. the report shows is decrease in suappear to be driving that spend. also a slight dip in the amount of calories american adults dip from going to fast food restaurants. and facebook is more than just a way to be socially interactive. it can also benefit the minds of older americans. a study found that adults over the age of 65 performed 25% better on memory exercises after learning to use facebook compared to those who didn't. researchers say it shows how learning and new skills and social interaction can help sharpen mental abilities. well, this time you might want to hold on to his cash a little better. he withdrew $3,200 u.s. out of an atm and then walked outside. it was a windy day and the wind blew the money right out of his hands. strangers rushed to help him. they were picking up the money and giving it back to him. the man came back and posted a letter on the bank's door to thank those who helped him. that is pretty incredible. >> unbelievable. well, weny told you about

this yesterday on "good morning maryland" about someone who'd bought a winning megamillions ticket in mount airy. >> we still don't know who won the $26 million jackpot but we do know where the ticket was purchased. this shell gas station just off of 70. the owner of the gas station gets a little money too so he's probably pretty excited. the maryland lottery says that he will receive $26,000 just for selling the ticket and again we have to wait for the guy or gal who won the ticket but it was a mount airy shell station. if you're watching congrats. all right, lynette -- >> that's why i -- i'm related to everybody in mount airy. >> i was going to say lynette when was the last time you were in mount airy? it was you. >> yesterday. >> are you kidding? >> exactly. mount airy is cold this morning guys. that's for sure. doing to be dealing with some very windy conditions and once again throughout the day. the good news is that it won't be as blustery as it was yesterday. temperatures is i cross the nation and i want to do this because across the nation that's where we're dealing with the storm. it's originating in the heart

and once it does so it's going to slide off towards the east. that storm in just a minute. but this is a good depiction of where the cold air is. of course you can see it to the north in minneapolis now. 12 degrees there. but the further you go to the south, we're going to be dealing with some severe weather. you can see 57 degrees in new orleans this morning. oh yes this is a definitely a component for isolated tornadoes as we go throughout the day. but this morning we're dealing with temperatures that are in the 20s. we feel more like we're in the teens because we do have these winds out of the north and west at about 10 miles an hour in baltimore. 12 in easton. gusts today up to about 20, 25 miles an hour. so make sure you bundle up this morning. and stay that way even as we go into the afternoon. although we will get some sunshine in here. much more than what we had yesterday. speaking of the sunshine not quite so yet. we will have filtered sunshine to start off the day. and then the clouds will decrease just for a little while because they'll begin to increase as we go throw time as this system -- through time as this system works its way. we have ice and sleet with the system. we have freezing rain and then

we do have that severe component and we can see that from texas to the panhandle of florida as we go through today and also tomorrow. this is the track of the storm that's going to be working towards us as we go into friday night into saturday. and mainly we'll start out with the wintry mix across the area. and end up with rain mainly on saturday. a raw day and also this all depends upon how strong this system is. how much cold air will wrap in. abc2's most accurate future trend picking up on that as well. but fen, the bigger stow -- again, the bigger story is that it's going to be a nasty day on saturday. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. it's shut down all inner loop lanes at belair road. several people are reported as injured and we will have the very latest as it becomes available. avoid the inner loop of the beltway in the observely area. unfortunately another crash on the inner loop at 295. the ramp to 295 north is now

shut down as well. the outer loop of the beltway. no delays there. just 11 minute right now on the west side of the beltway to travel in 795 down to 95. if you are using the jfx to get downtown, no problems whatsoever. you're looking at a normal 11 minutes to get from 695 all the way downtown to east fayette street. and everything is up to speed through the fort mchenry tunnel. eight minutes right now to travel northbound from the beltway all the way to the toll plaza. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. web you're snowed in for too long sometimes you have to get creative maybe get a toboggan. >> you do need one or maybe a sled. who knows? that exactly what one man chose to do when he turned almost three feet of snow into a personal man cave. you'll see the finished product when "good morning maryland" continues.

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all right, so you know the saying that when life gives you lemons you make hem maid. that's what happens will be lemonade. that's when -- lemonade. that's what happens men a mother nature gives you ice. >> this is the fourth igloo he has built and he says this is the best work yet. he was a tv, a couch and a lamp and that doubles as a heat warmer. he calls it the man cave.

it's club ice. and he's also reenforced the top of the igloo with four by fours so it doesn't collapse. >> no problem with that at all. >> he's going to have a house party there. a weatherman in australia wasn't looking for adventure lynette you might get inspired. he got more than he bargained for. he was a stunt pilot and he wanted to see what -- eight gs felt like and you can see he didn't handle the gravitation force very well. apparently he cannot handle it. he passed out live on the air. he says he had no idea that he lost consciousness and he says that he was out for about six or seven seconds. i don't blame him for passing out. >> i thought at any moment there was going to be vomit coming. it was going to be one of those. >> we wouldn't show it if you if that was the case. for most of us it is second nature. you get in the car and the first thing you do is always buckle up. >> but not routine for everybody. we're going to look at what age group is most likely to gone the road without wearing a -- go on the road without wearing a seat belt. >> also just a few days away

from the 85th annual academy awards. we talked with one local man who knows what it's like to win an oscar. you'll meet him in the 6:00 hour of "good morning maryland." @6

we're following breaking news this morning. a train derails in cecil county and crews are on the scene. we're going to take you there live. and a lot is happening in ou